Error Analysis

I thought that the error analysis activities were some of the most beneficial aspects of the math methods course. It had not occurred to me before to look for patterns in the students' errors. I also really enjoyed learning different ways to teach addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. I learned that often, the reasons students make errors is because they do not understand the processes of their problems. They simply try to memorize the process.

In my future classroom, I anticipate teaching students through the use of manipulatives and multiple representations so that my students more completely understand the operations they perform. I also would like to apply the way Dr. Grant taught us to teach the algorithms because I think that way makes more sense than the way I was taught. Finally, I hope to remember to look for patterns in my students errors, as those patterns provide insight to the students' thinking and can provide direction for me as a teacher.